thumb|Fierljeppen in Linschoten

thumb|Newsreel footage of the 1961 Fierljeppen Championships in [[Winsum, Friesland|Winsum]]

Fierljeppen (West Frisian compound of fier—"far" and ljeppen—"leaping") or polsstokverspringen is a traditional sport of the Netherlands, and of West Frisian people in the Dutch province of Fryslân. The sport is also traditionally popular in the province of Utrecht which produced record holder Jaco de Groot and Theo van Kooten.

Description

The sport involves a long pole and a body of water. The pole is typically made of cedar wood or some composite materials. The pole is between long and has a flat round plate at the bottom to prevent it from sinking into the muddy river or canal bottom. Its material has evolved from wood which was heavy but prone to breakage to aluminium and currently to carbon-fiber reinforced polymers.

A jump consists of a sprint to the pole (polsstok), jumping and grabbing it, then climbing to the top of the pole while trying to control its forward and lateral movements over a body of water, and finishing by landing on a sand bed opposite to the starting point.

History

The Netherlands has many waterways. Fierljeppen originated as a way for Frisian people to get around the waterways easily. Over time it turned into a competition with the first official match in 1771 but the sport was not properly structured until 1957.

  • Seniors: , Jaco de Groot from Woerden, Utrecht (12 August 2017, Zegveld)
  • Veterans: , Thewis Hobma from Harlingen, Friesland (21 June 2025, Burgum)
  • Ladies: Marrit van der Wal from It Heidenskip, Friesland (31 July 2019, Burgum)
  • Juniors (under 20): , Germ Terpstra from Tzum, Friesland (5 July 2025, Jaarsveld)
  • Boys (under 16): , Wisse Broekstra from Winsum, Friesland (19 September 2020, Burgum)
  • Girls (under 16): , Hanneke Westert from IJlst, Friesland (24 August 2022, Burgum)
  • Foreigners (Not native of Netherlands):, Alan Barth from Canada 19 August 2002, Burgum)

There are 532 registered active jumpers in the world; of those, 190 are from the Netherlands.